Lithium secondary battery

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a lithium secondary battery comprising a nonaqueous electrolytic solution containing a compound which is oxidized at a voltage higher than a charge end voltage of the lithium secondary battery and a compound which inhibits reactions at voltages lower than said charge end voltage.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a lithium secondary battery and,more particularly, to a lithium secondary battery having improvedovercharge characteristics as well as an electrical appliance utilizingthe lithium secondary battery.

DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART

[0002] The rapid diffusion of portable electronic machines or applianceshas created a demand for smaller and lighter batteries as their powersource. Primary batteries that meet this demand are lithium primarycells having an anode of lithium metal which are small is size and lightin weight and yet have a high capacity. Unfortunately, they cannot beused repeatedly by charging and hence they are limited in use. Secondarybatteries such as lead batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, andnickel-hydrogen batteries can be used repeatedly, but they are low inoperating voltage because they rely on an aqueous electrolytic solution.Therefore, they are not suitable for use which requires high capacity,small size, and light weight.

[0003] Demand for a secondary battery having a high capacity, smallsize, and light weight has been met by the development of a practicallithium ion battery. It has found widespread use in portable electronicand communications machines and equipment, such as CAM coder, digitalcamera, cellular phone, and notebook computer. It has also found as apower source for hybrid cars and pure electric cars.

[0004] A lithium ion battery is characterized by its anode and cathodeactive materials made of a substance capable of occluding and releasinglithium ions. In principle, it works without requiring electrodepositionof lithium metal. Its anode and cathode may be made of a variety ofsubstances capable of occluding and releasing lithium ions. Theircombination permits one to design the battery capacity and workingvoltage as desired. For example, the cathode is practically made of acarbonaceous material. It is expected to be made of a Group IVA elementor an oxide thereof, a lithium-transition metal composite nitride, or anorganic compound such as polyacetylene. The anode is practically made ofLiMn₂O₄ or LiCoO₂ and will be made of LiNiO₂, LiFeO₂, or LiMnO₂ underdevelopmental stage. A lithium ion battery formed from theabove-mentioned anode active material and a carbonaceous material forthe cathode undergoes charging by the following mechanism. The anodepermits lithium to dissolve in an electrolytic solution composed of anorganic solvent and a lithium salt (as en electrolyte) dissolvedtherein. The cathode (which is separated from the anode by a fine porousseparator) causes the carbonaceous material to occlude (byintercalation) lithium ions from the electrolytic solution. Dischargingproceeds in the reverse process, thereby delivering electrons to theexternal circuit.

[0005] The above-mentioned lithium ion battery has a designed batterycapacity which is determined by the amount of lithium in the anode orthe capacity of the cathode occluding lithium ions, whichever smaller.Charging in excess of this battery capacity is referred to asovercharging. In the overcharging state, the anode releases more lithiumthan it should keep, causing the active material to disintegrate, andthe cathode receives excess lithium ions, causing lithium metal toseparate out (a phenomenon called dendrite). This results in the batteryincreasing in voltage and temperature. Thus, overcharging of lithiumbatteries poses a problem with battery safety.

[0006] To address this problem, there has been proposed a method ofinhibiting overcharging by causing the electrolytic solution to consumecurrent when overcharging occurs. See, for example, Japanese PatentLaid-open Nos. 338347/1994, 302614/1995, 106835/1997, 17447/1994,50822/1997, and 162512/1999. The proposed method consists ofincorporating the electrolytic solution with an aromatic compound whichhas an oxidation potential which is higher than the anode potential(usually 4.1-4.3 V) at the time of charging. The object is achieved asthe aromatic compound undergoes oxidation reaction, thereby consumingovercharging current and inhibiting reactions due to overcharging. Thisaction is attributable to the oxidation reduction reaction of the πelectron conjugated system of the aromatic compound.

[0007] The above-mentioned aromatic compound produces a good effect ofinhibiting overcharging but has a disadvantage of deteriorating thecycle characteristics and storage characteristics of the battery.

[0008] In order to address this problem, there has been proposed a newcompound, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Nos. 156243/2000,58112/2000, 58113/2000, 58114/2000, 58116/2000, and 58117/2000. Theproposed compound produces a good effect but has a disadvantage becauseit contains many phenyl groups in the molecule and hence has a highmolecular weight. The disadvantage is that the compound is low insolubility (and hence is limited in its amount that can be added to theelectrolytic solution) and has an extended π electron conjugated system(to inhibit overcharging), with the result that consumption ofovercharging current by each methyl group is low and the effect per unitamount added is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide anelectrolyte with a compound which has a high solubility and a lowmolecular weight. It is another object of the present invention toprovide a lithium battery having improved safety owing to anelectrolytic solution which effectively inhibits overcharging and has noadverse effect on storage characteristics. Further, another object ofthe present invention is to provide an electrical appliance utilizingthe lithium secondary battery of the present invention.

[0010] According to the present invention, the above-mentioned object isachieved by a lithium secondary battery which is characterized in thatits nonaqueous electrolytic solution contains a compound which isoxidized at a voltage higher than the charge end voltage of the lithiumsecondary battery and a compound which inhibits reactions at voltageslower than said charge end voltage.

[0011] The lithium secondary battery of the present invention ischaracterized in that it has a charge capacity of C₁ when it (indischarged state) is charged with constant current until a voltage V₁ of1.2V is reached and it has a charge capacity of C₂ when it is chargedfurther (at a voltage higher than V₁) until it cannot be charged anylonger, with the ratio (4) of C₁/C₂ being lower than 0.7.

[0012] The lithium secondary battery of the present invention achievesits good performance owing to the electrolytic solution which contains afluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula (1) below and anaromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2) as anovercharge inhibiting substance.

Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1)

[0013] An overcharge inhibiting substance represented by the chemicalformula (3) below produces a better effect.

[0014] The fluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula (1),which is to be incorporated into the electrolytic solution, isexemplified by the following.

[0015] 2,2,2-trifluoromethyl ethyl ether,

[0016] 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl difluoromethyl ether,

[0017] 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl methyl ether,

[0018] 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl difluoromethyl ether,

[0019] 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl ether,

[0020] 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl methyl ether,

[0021] 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl ethyl ether,

[0022] 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl 1,1,2,2-trifluoroethyl ether,

[0023] 2,2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl difluoromethyl ether,

[0024] 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl 2,2,3,3-trifluoroethyl ether,

[0025] Hexafluoroisopropyl methyl ether,

[0026] 1,1,3,3,3-pentafluoro-2-trifluoromethylpropyl methyl ether,

[0027] 1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropyl methyl ether,

[0028] 1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropyl ethyl ether,

[0029] 2,2,3,4,4,4-hexafluorobutyl difluoromethyl ether,

[0030] Methyl perfluoropropionate,

[0031] Methyl perfluorobutyrate,

[0032] Ethyl perfluorobutyrate,

[0033] Methyl perfluorooctanate,

[0034] Ethyl perfluorooctanate,

[0035] Ethyl difluoroacetate,

[0036] Ethyl 5H-octafluoropnetanoate,

[0037] Ethyl 7H-decafluoroheptanoate,

[0038] Ethyl 9H-decafluoronanoate,

[0039] Methyl 2-trifluoromethyl-3,3,3-trifluoropropionate,

[0040] Methyl nanofluorobutyl ether,

[0041] Ethyl nanofluorobutyl ether,

[0042] Propyl nanofluorobutyl ether, and

[0043] Butyl nanofluorobutyl ether.

[0044] Other solvents than fluorinated solvents include the following.

[0045] Cyclic or chain esters (such as ethylene carbonate,fluoropropylene carbonate, butylene carbonate, chloroethylene carbonate,fluoroethylene carbonate, difluoroethylene carbonate,trifluoromethylpropylene carbonate, vinylene carbonate, dimethylvinylenecarbonate, dimethyl carbonate, ethylmethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate,diphenyl carbonate, 1,3-propylene carbonate, and2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propylene carbonate); cyclic or chain ethers (such asdimethoxy methane, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, diglyme, triglyme,1,3-di-oxolane, tetrahydrofuran, and 2-methylterahydrofuran);γ-butyrolactone, sulfolane, methyl propionate, ethyl propionate,ethylene sulfide, dimethylsulfoxide, ethylmethylsulfoxide,diethylsulfoxide, methylpropylsulfoxide, and ethylpropylsulfoxide. Theymay be used alone or in combination with one another.

[0046] The electrolytic solution of the lithium battery contains alithium salt as the supporting electrolyte.

[0047] Examples of the supporting electrolyte include LiPF₆, LiBF₄,LiClO₄, LiSO₃CF₃, LiN(SO₂CF₃), LiN(SO₂CF₂CF₃), LiC(SO₂CF₂CF₃)₃,LiC(SO₂CF₃)₃, LiI, LiCl, LiF, LiPF₅(SO₂CF₃), and LiPF₄(SO₂CF₃)₂.

[0048] They may be used alone or in combination with one another.

[0049] Examples of the overcharge inhibiting compound represented by thechemical formula 2 or 3 include the following.

[0050] 4-biphneyl acetate, phehyl propionate, 4-biphenyl benzoate,4-biphenylbenzyl carboxylate, 2-biphenyl propionate,1,4-diphenoxybenzene, 1,3-diphenoxybenzene, diphenyl ether,3-phenxytoluene, anisole, 2-chloroanisole, 3-chloroanisole,4-fluoroanisole, 4-chloroanisole, 4-bromoanisole, 2,4-difluoroanisole,3,5-difluoroanisole, 2,4-dichloroanisole, 2,4-dibromoanisole,ethoxybenzene, 2,4-difluoroethoxybenzene, 2,4-difluoropropoxybenzene,2,5-difluoroanisole, 2,6-difluoroanisole, 3,4-difluoroanisole,3,5-fluoroanisole, 1,2-dimethoxybenzene, 1,2-dimethoxy-4-fluorobenzne,1,2-dimethoxy-4-chlorobenzene, 1,2-diemthoxy-4-bromobenzene,1,3-dimethoxy-5-bromobenzene, 2,4-dichlorotoluene, 2-chloroxylene,4-chloro-o-xylene, and 4-bromo-m-xylene. Other examples includephenyltrimethylsilane, benzyltrimethylsilane, diphehylmethylsilane,diphenyldimethoxysilane, diphenylsilane, 4-methoxyphenylmethylsilane,and triphenylsilane.

[0051] The cathode of the lithium secondary battery may be formed fromlithium metal, lithium-aluminum alloy, natural or artificial graphite,amorphous carbon, a composite material of carbon with a substance (suchas silicon, germanium, and aluminum) which can be alloyed with lithium,or silicon oxide or tin oxide or a composite material thereof withcarbon.

[0052] The anode of the lithium secondary battery may be formed from anyof the following materials. A composite oxide of lithium with cobalt,nickel, or iron; a material incorporated with transition metal, silicon,germanium, aluminum, manganese, or magnesium; lithium manganate or amixture thereof with lithium, transition metal, silicon, germanium,aluminum, manganese, or magnesium; or a material whose crystal is partlyreplaced by any of the above-mentioned materials.

[0053] The separator of the lithium secondary battery may be formed froma fine porous film of polymeric material such as polyethylene,polypropylene, vinylene copolymer, and polybutylene. The porous film maybe used in the form of double-layered or triple-layered laminate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] The above advantages and features of the invention will be moreclearly understood from the following detailed description which isprovided in connection with the accompanying drawings.

[0055]FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the cylindrical lithium secondarybattery in one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0056] Exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be describedbelow in connection with the drawings. Other embodiments may be utilizedand structural or logical changes may be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the present invention. Like items are referred to bylike reference numerals throughout the drawings. The invention will bedescribed in more detail with reference to the following examples whichare not intended to restrict the scope thereof.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

[0057] This comparative example is designed to evaluate the overchargingcharacteristics and storage characteristics. A cylindrical lithiumsecondary battery constructed as shown in FIG. 1 was produced in thefollowing manner. For the cathode active material, a mixture wasprepared from artificial graphite (mesophase microbeads) and PVDF as abinder in a ratio of 91:9 by weight. The mixture was dissolved inN-methylpyrrolidone (NMP for short) as a solvent to give a paste. Thispaste was applied to both sides of copper foil as a cathode currentcollector 1. The coating was dried, pressed with heating, andvacuum-dried. In this way the cathode layer 2 was formed on both sidesof the cathode current collector 1. Thus there was obtained the cathode.For the anode active material, a mixture was prepared from lithiumcobaltite, graphite as a conducting material, and PVDF as a binder in aratio of 85:7:8 by weight. The mixture was dissolved in NMP as a solventto give a paste. This paste was applied to both sides of aluminum foilas an anode current collector 3. The coating was dried, pressed withheating, and vacuum-dried. In this way the anode layer 4 was formed onboth sides of the anode current collector 3. Thus there was obtained theanode. A cathode lead 5 and an anode lead 6 (both made of nickel foil)were attached by electric welding respectively to the uncoated parts ofthe cathode and anode. The cathode and anode, with a separator 7interposed between them, were wound up. The outermost separator wasfixed with a tape. The thus obtained electrode group was inserted into abattery can 10 of stainless steel, in such a way that the cathode lead 5comes into contact with the bottom of the can, with a polypropyleneinsulator 8 interposed between them. The cathode lead 5 was connected byelectric welding to the battery can 10 so as to form the cathodecircuit. The anode lead 6 was connected by electric welding to the anodecap 12, with an anode insulator 9 interposed between them. For theelectrolytic solution, a mixed solvent was prepared from ethylenecarbonate (EC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) in a ratio of 1:2 by volume.In this solvent was dissolved 1M (mol/dm⁻³) of LiPF₆. (The compositionof the electrolytic solution will be described as “1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2by volume)” hereinafter.) The thus obtained electrolytic solution (about4 ml) was poured into the battery can 10 through its opening. Thecathode can 10 was mechanically crimped with an anode cap 12 (with agasket 11). Thus there was obtained the cylindrical lithium secondarybattery (cobalt-based battery) for Comparative Example 1. Incidentally,the anode cap 12 is equipped with a safety device which is a pressureswitch CID (Current Interrupt Device, which opens the circuit at about100 kPa) consisting of heat-sensitive resistance element PTC (PositiveTemperature Coefficient, resistance trip temperature at about 80° C.)and aluminum foil circuit.

[0058] The thus obtained battery was charged at a constant current of 1A and a constant voltage of 4.2 V, with the charge end current being 20mA. Then the battery was discharged at a discharge current of 1 A, withthe discharge end voltage being 3 V. In other words, V₁ was 4.2 V andthe discharge voltage was 3 V. The charging-discharging cycle wasrepeated twice. Then the battery was charged until 4.2 V at a current of1 A. The battery was charged further (for overcharging) at 1 A untilcharging was interrupted by the action of the safety device. It wasfound that the battery has a charging capacity C₁ of 1380 mAh whencharged to 4.2 V and the battery has an overcharging capacity C₂ of 1300mAh when overcharged until charging was interrupted by the safetydevice. It follows therefore that the safety effect (ξ) of the batterydefined in the formula (4) below is 0.94.

Safety effect (ξ)=(Overcharging effect C₂)/(Initial discharge capacityC₁)  (4)

[0059] The smaller value of safety effect means that the battery is safewith a remote possibility of overcharging.

[0060] For evaluation of the initial discharge capacity S₁, the batteryprepared in the same way as above was charged at 1 A up to 4.2 V andthen discharged at room temperature under the same conditions asmentioned above. The battery was charged again under the sameconditions. The charged battery was allowed to stand at 60° C. for 10days. After cooling to room temperature, the battery was discharged at 1A. The battery was charged and discharged again and the recoveredcapacity was measured. The capacity after storage is designated as S₂.The storage characteristic was evaluated according to the formula (5)below.

Storage characteristic (%)=(Recovered discharge capacity after storageS₂)/(Initial discharge capacity S₁)×100  (5)

[0061] The battery in Comparative Example 1 has a storage characteristicof 93%. The larger is this value, the better is the storagecharacteristic of the battery.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2

[0062] A cobalt-based battery was produced in the same way as inComparative Example 1 except that the electrolytic solution (1M LiPF₆EC/DMC (1/2 by volume)) contains 0.1 M of anisole (An for shorthereinafter) dissolved therein. The resulting battery had anovercharging capacity of 1120 mAh and a safety effect (ξ) of 0.81.However, it had a storage characteristic of 72%, which is lower thanthat of the battery in Comparative Example 1.

EXAMPLE 1

[0063] An electrolytic solution was prepared from 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2by volume), 5 vol % of methyl perfluorobutyrate (HFE1 for shorthereinafter) as a fluorinated solvent, and 0.1 M of An. Thiselectrolytic solution was used to produce the same cobalt-based batteryas in Comparative Example 1. The resulting battery had a chargingcapacity (up to 4.2 V) of 1395 mAh, but it had an overcharging capacityof 870 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.62.This result indicates that the battery containing a specific fluorinatedsolvent (HFE1) in the electrolytic solution decreases in overchargecurrent capacity much more than that in Comparative Examples 1 and 2even though An as an overcharge inhibiting agent is used in common.Moreover, the battery in this example had a storage characteristic of82%, which is higher by 10% than that in Comparative Example 2.

EXAMPLE 2

[0064] An electrolytic solution was prepared from 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2by volume), 5 vol % of 2,2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl difluoromethyl ether(HFE2 for short hereinafter) as a fluorinated solvent, and 0.1 M of An.This electrolytic solution was used to produce the same cobalt-basedbattery as in Comparative Example 1. The resulting battery had acharging capacity (up to 4.2 V) of 1410 mAh, but it had an overchargingcapacity of 820 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.58 (which is better than that in Example 1). This result indicatesthat the fluorinated solvent of ether structure added to theelectrolytic solution improves further the effect of inhibitingovercharging. Moreover, the battery in this example had a storagecharacteristic of 86%, which is higher by 4% than that in Example 1.This suggests that the fluorinated solvent of ether structure alsocontributes to the storage characteristics.

EXAMPLE 3

[0065] An electrolytic solution was prepared from 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2by volume), 5 vol % of nanofluorobutyl methyl ether (HFE3 for shorthereinafter) as a fluorinated solvent, and 0.1 M of An. Thiselectrolytic solution was used to produce the same cobalt-based batteryas in Comparative Example 1. The resulting battery had a chargingcapacity (up to 4.2 V) of 1390 mAh, but it had an overcharging capacityof 810 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.58.This result indicates that the fluorinated solvent of ether structureproduces the effect of inhibiting overcharging. Moreover, the battery inthis example had a storage characteristic of 88%, which is higher by 2%than that in Example 1. This suggests that the nanofluorobutyl methylether greatly improves the storage characteristics.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3

[0066] A manganese-based battery was prepared in the same way as inComparative Example 1 except that the anode active material was lithiummanganate and the cathode active material was amorphous carbon (PIC fromKureha Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), with the electrolytic solutionremaining unchanged from 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume). The resultingbattery was measured for capacity by charging under the same condition(V₁=4.2 V) as in Comparative Example 1. The battery was found to have acharging capacity of 920 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 850 mAh at4.2 V and above. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.94, and the storage characteristic of the battery was 94%.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 4

[0067] A manganese-based battery was prepared in the same way as inComparative Example 3 except that the electrolytic solution was replacedby the one consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume) and 0.1M of Andissolved therein. The resulting battery was found to have a chargingcapacity of 910 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 720mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.79, whichmeans that the battery has better safety than that in ComparativeExample 3. However, the storage characteristic of the battery was 67%,which is lower than that of the battery in Comparative Example 3.

EXAMPLE 4

[0068] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE1. The resulting battery was found to havea charging capacity of 920 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overchargingcapacity of 640 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.70, which means that the battery has better safety than that inComparative Example 4. Moreover, the storage characteristic of thebattery was 72%, which is better than that of the battery in ComparativeExample 4. This result suggests that the fluorinated solvent preventsthe overcharging inhibiting agent (An) from lowering the storagecharacteristics even in the case of manganese-based battery.

EXAMPLE 5

[0069] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE2. The resulting battery was found to havea charging capacity of 930 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overchargingcapacity of 590 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.63, which means that the battery has better safety than that inExample 4. Moreover, the storage characteristic of the battery was 81%,which is better than that of the battery in Example 4. This resultsuggests that the fluorinated solvent of ether structure prevents theovercharging inhibiting agent from lowering the storage characteristicseven in the case of manganese-based battery.

EXAMPLE 6

[0070] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of 4-biphenyl benzoate (Bph for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % ofHFE2. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 910mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 550 mAh. Therefore,the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.60, which means that thebattery has better safety than that in Example 4. In addition, thestorage characteristic of the battery was 83%. This result suggests thatthe Bph does not greatly decrease the storage characteristics unlike thebattery in Comparative Example 4.

EXAMPLE 7

[0071] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of 1,2-dimethoxybenzene (VL for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % ofHFE2. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 910mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 580 mAh. Therefore,the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.64, which means that thebattery has better safety than that in Example 4. In addition, thestorage characteristic of the battery was 81%. This result suggests thatthe VL does not greatly decrease the storage characteristics unlike thebattery in Comparative Example 4.

EXAMPLE 8

[0072] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of 4-fluoroanisole (FAn for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % ofHFE2. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 920mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 530 mAh. Therefore,the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.58, which means that thebattery has better safety than that in Example 4. In addition, thestorage characteristic of the battery was 83%. This result suggests thatthe FAn does not greatly decrease the storage characteristics unlike thebattery in Comparative Example 4.

EXAMPLE 9

[0073] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of 2,5-diphenylanisole (DFAn for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % ofHFE2. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 910mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 510 mAh. Therefore,the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.56, which means that thebattery has better safety than that in Example 4. In addition, thestorage characteristic of the battery was 81%. This result suggests thatthe DFAn does not greatly decrease the storage characteristics unlikethe battery in Comparative Example 4.

EXAMPLE 10

[0074] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of 4-biphenylacetate (BphA for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % ofHFE2. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 900mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 510 mAh. Therefore,the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.57, which means that thebattery has better safety than that in Example 4. In addition, thestorage characteristic of the battery was 83%. This result suggests thatthe BphA does not greatly decrease the storage characteristics unlikethe battery in Comparative Example 4.

EXAMPLE 11

[0075] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of phenyl propionate (PhP for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % ofHFE2. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 900mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 520 mAh. Therefore,the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.58, which means that thebattery has better safety than that in Example 4. In addition, thestorage characteristic of the battery was 82%. This result suggests thatthe PhP does not greatly decrease the storage characteristics unlike thebattery in Comparative Example 4.

EXAMPLE 12

[0076] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of ethoxybenzene (EtOB for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % of HFE2.The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 910 mAh(up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 570 mAh. Therefore, thesafety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.63, which means that the batteryhas better safety than that in Example 4. In addition, the storagecharacteristic of the battery was 81%. This result suggests that theEtOB does not greatly decrease the storage characteristics unlike thebattery in Comparative Example 4.

EXAMPLE 13

[0077] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of 4-bromoanisole (BrAn for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % ofHFE2. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 920mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 560 mAh. Therefore,the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.61, which means that thebattery has better safety than that in Example 4. In addition, thestorage characteristic of the battery was 81%. This result suggests thatthe BrAn does not greatly decrease the storage characteristics unlikethe battery in Comparative Example 4.

[0078] The above-mentioned results are summarized in Table 1. Asmentioned above, the combination of an aromatic compound and afluorinated solvent produces the effect of inhibiting overcharging forboth the cobalt/graphite carbon battery and the manganese/amorphouscarbon battery and gives rise to batteries which decrease in capacityonly a little during storage. In addition, it was found that thearomatic compound known as an overcharge inhibiting agent has its effectenhanced when used in combination with a fluorinated solvent. Of severalfluorinated solvents, that of ether structure is most effective. TABLE 1Over- Charging charging Safety Storage Battery type capacity capacityeffect character- Example No. Electrolytic solution (mAh) (mAh) (ξ)istic (%) LiCoO₂/ graphite carbon Comparative 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/21380 1300 0.94 93 Example 1 Comparative 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, An = 0.1M 1390 1120 0.81 72 Example 2 Example 1 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE1 =5% + An = 0.1 M 1395 870 0.62 82 Example 2 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2= 5% + An = 0.1 M 1410 820 0.58 86 Example 3 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2,HFE3 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 1390 810 0.58 88 LiMn₂O₄/ amorphous carbonComparative 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2 920 850 0.92 94 Example 3 Comparative1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, An = 0.1 M 910 720 0.79 67 Example 4 Example 4 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE1 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 920 640 0.70 72 Example 5 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 930 590 0.63 81 Example 6 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + Bph = 0.1 M 910 550 0.60 83 Example 71 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + VL = 0.1 M 910 580 0.64 81 Example 81 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + FAn = 0.1 M 920 530 0.58 83 Example9 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + DFAn = 0.1 M 910 510 0.56 81Example 10 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + BphA = 0.1 M 900 510 0.5783 Example 11 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + PhP = 0.1 M 900 5200.58 82 Example 12 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + EtOB = 0.1 M 910570 0.63 81 Example 13 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + BrAn = 0.1 M920 560 0.61 81

EXAMPLE 14

[0079] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to havea charging capacity of 920 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overchargingcapacity of 560 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.61, which means that owing to HFE3 as a fluorinated solvent thebattery has better safety than that in Examples 4 and 5 which employsHFE1 or HFE2 as a fluorinated solvent. In addition, the storagecharacteristic of the battery was 85%. Thus the battery in this exampleis greatly improved over that in Example 4 or 5. This result suggeststhat an adequate selection of fluorinated solvents contributes toimprovement in safety and storage properties.

EXAMPLE 15

[0080] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of PhP, and 5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found tohave a charging capacity of 900 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overchargingcapacity of 520 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.58. This result suggests that PhP as an overcharge inhibiting agentcontributes more to the battery safety when used in combination withHFE3 as a fluorinated solvent than when used in combination with HFE2 asa fluorinate solvent, as in Example 12. In addition, the storagecharacteristic of the battery in this example is 85%, which is muchbetter than that in Example 11. Thus it was confirmed in this examplethat HFE3 produces its good effect even though the kind of theovercharge inhibiting agent is changed.

EXAMPLE 16

[0081] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of EtOB, and 5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found tohave a charging capacity of 910 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overchargingcapacity of 570 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.63. This result suggests that EtOB as an overcharge inhibiting agentcontributes more to the battery safety when used in combination withHFE3 as a fluorinated solvent than when used in combination with HFE2 asa fluorinate solvent, as in Example 12. In addition, the storagecharacteristic of the battery in this example is 86%, which is muchbetter than that in Example 12. Thus it was confirmed in this examplethat HFE3 produces its good effect even though the kind of theovercharge inhibiting agent is changed.

[0082] The following examples demonstrate how the battery safety andstorage characteristics vary depending on the main solvent of theelectrolytic solution and the kind of the electrolyte.

EXAMPLE 17

[0083] In this example, DMC was replaced by ethyl methyl carbonate (EMCfor short hereinafter). A manganese-based battery was prepared whichcontains an electrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/EMC (1/2 byvolume), 0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery wasfound to have a charging capacity of 920 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and anovercharging capacity of 560 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) ofthe battery was 0.60, which is equal to that of the battery in Example14 which employs DMC as the solvent. The storage characteristic of thebattery was 85%, which is equal to that of the battery which employs DMCas the solvent. This result suggests that EMC is as effective as DMC insafety and storage characteristics.

EXAMPLE 18

[0084] In this example, DMC was replaced by diethyl carbonate (DEC forshort hereinafter). A manganese-based battery was prepared whichcontains an electrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DEC (1/2 byvolume), 0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery wasfound to have a charging capacity of 900 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and anovercharging capacity of 520 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) ofthe battery was 0.58, which is equal to that of the battery in Example17 which employs EMC as the solvent. The storage characteristic of thebattery was 84%, which is slightly inferior to that of the battery whichemploys DMC or EMC as the solvent but is superior to that of the batteryin Example 5. This result suggests that the performance of the batterydepends little on the solvent of the electrolytic solution.

EXAMPLE 19

[0085] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ PC (propylene carbonate),0.1M of An, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found tohave a charging capacity of 890 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overchargingcapacity of 490 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.55. This result suggests that PC used alone for the electrolyticsolution produces a better result than 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume)used in Example 14. The storage characteristic of the battery was 86%,which is better than that of the battery in Example 14.

EXAMPLE 20

[0086] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ GBL (?-butyrolactone), 0.1Mof An, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 870 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacityof 490 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.55.This result suggests that the battery in this example which employs GBLalone for the electrolytic solution is superior to that in Example 14.The storage characteristic of the battery was 88%, which is better thanthat of the battery in Example 14.

EXAMPLE 21

[0087] In this example, the lithium salt was replaced by LiBF₄. Amanganese-based battery was prepared which contains an electrolyticsolution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ PC, 0.1M of An, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3.The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 890 mAh(up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 480 mAh. Therefore, thesafety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.54, which is better than that ofthe battery in Example 19. The storage characteristic of the battery was87%, which is better than that of the battery in Example 19. This resultsuggests that in the case of a solvent consisting of PC alone, theelectrolytic solution containing LiBF₄ is superior to that containingLiPF₆.

EXAMPLE 22

[0088] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ GBL, 0.1M of An, and 0.5vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have a chargingcapacity of 890 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 480mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.54, which isbetter than that of the battery in Example 19. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 87%, which is better than that of thebattery in Example 19. This result suggests that in the case of asolvent consisting of PC alone, the electrolytic solution containingLiBF₄ is superior to that containing LiPF₆.

EXAMPLE 23

[0089] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ EC/GBL/PC (1/1/1 byvolume), 0.1M of An, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery wasfound to have a charging capacity of 910 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and anovercharging capacity of 480 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) ofthe battery was 0.53, which is better than that of the battery inExample 22. The storage characteristic of the battery was 89%, which isbetter than that of the battery in Example 22. This result suggests thatthe three-component solvent for the electrolytic solution also improvesthe safety and storage characteristics.

EXAMPLE 24

[0090] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 0.8M LiN(SO₂CF₂CF₃) (LiBETI forshort hereinafter) and 0.2M LiBF₄ dissolved in BGL, 0.1M of An, and 0.5vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have a chargingcapacity of 930 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 490mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.53, which isbetter than that of the battery in Example 23. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 87%.

EXAMPLE 25

[0091] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 0.2M LiPF₆ and 0.8M LiBF₄ dissolvedin BGL, 0.1M of An, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery wasfound to have a charging capacity of 940 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and anovercharging capacity of 490 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (4) ofthe battery was 0.52, which is better than that of the battery inExample 23. The storage characteristic of the battery was 88%. Thisresult suggests that a mixture of lithium salts tends to increase thecharging capacity although its effect of improving the safety andstorage characteristics remains almost unchanged.

[0092] The above-mentioned results are summarized in Table 2. Asmentioned above, HFE3 as a fluorinated solvent improves the batterysafety and storage characteristics more than HFE1 and HFE2. This holdstrue even when the composition of the electrolytic solution was changed.TABLE 2 Over- Charging charging Safety Storage Battery type capacitycapacity effect character- Example No. Electrolytic solution (mAh) (mAh)(ξ) istic (%) LiMn₂O₄/ amorphous carbon Example 14 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC =1/2, HFE3 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 900 520 0.58 85 Example 15 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC= 1/2, HFE3 = 5% + PhP = 0.1 M 910 570 0.63 86 Example 16 1 M LiPF₆EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% + EtOB = 0.1 M 920 560 0.61 85 Example 17 1 MLiPF₆ EC/EMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 920 550 0.60 86 Example 18 1M LiPF₆ EC/DEC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 900 520 0.58 84 Example 191 M LiPF₆ PC, HFE3 = 0.5% + An = 0.1 M 890 490 0.55 86 Example 20 1 MLiPF₆ GBL, HFE3 = 0.5% + An = 0.1 M 870 490 0.56 88 Example 21 1 M LiBF₄PC, HFE3 = 0.5% + An = 0.1 M 890 480 0.54 87 Example 22 1 M LiBF₄ GBL,HFE3 = 0.5% + An = 0.1 M 880 470 0.53 88 Example 23 1 M LiBF₄ EC/GBL/PC= 1/5/1, HFE3 = 0.5% + An = 910 480 0.53 89 0.1 M Example 24 0.8 M LiBF₄0.2 M LiBETI GBL, HFE3 = 0.5% + An = 930 490 0.53 87 0.1 M Example 250.8 M LiBF₄ 0.2 M LiPF₆ GBL, HFE3 = 0.5% + An = 940 490 0.52 88 0.1 M

EXAMPLE 26

[0093] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of phenyltrimethylsilane (PS1 for short hereinafter), and 5 vol %of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of900 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 450 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.50, which is bestamong all the batteries obtained in the foregoing Examples. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 91%, which is best among all thebatteries obtained in the foregoing Examples. This result suggests thatthe silicon compound (with a silyl group) used as the overchargeinhibiting agent greatly improves the battery safety and storagecharacteristics.

EXAMPLE 27

[0094] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of diphenylmethylsilane (PS2 for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % ofHFE3. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 910mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 430 mAh. Therefore,the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.47, which is best among allthe batteries obtained in the foregoing Examples. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 92%, which is best among all thebatteries obtained in the foregoing Examples.

EXAMPLE 28

[0095] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of diphenylsilane (PS3 for short hereinafter), and 5 vol % of HFE3.The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of 920 mAh(up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 430 mAh. Therefore, thesafety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.47, which is equal to that of thebattery in Example 27. The battery in this Example has an improvedcharge capacity. The storage characteristic of the battery was 93%,which is best among all the batteries obtained in the foregoingExamples.

EXAMPLE 29

[0096] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of diphenyldimethoxysilane (PS4 for short hereinafter), and 5 vol %of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have a charging capacity of920 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 420 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.46, which is bestamong all the batteries obtained in the foregoing Examples. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 93%, which is equal to that of thebattery in Example 28.

EXAMPLE 30

[0097] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of 4-methoxyphenyltrimethylsilane (PS5 for short hereinafter), and5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have a chargingcapacity of 920 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 410mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.465, which isbest among all the batteries obtained in the foregoing Examples. Thestorage characteristic of the battery was 93%, which is equal to that ofthe batteries in Examples 28 and 29.

EXAMPLE 31

[0098] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume),0.1M of PS5, and 5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found tohave a charging capacity of 910 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overchargingcapacity of 390 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was0.43, which is best among all the batteries obtained in the foregoingExamples. The storage characteristic of the battery was 93%, which isequal to that of the batteries in Examples 28 to 30. The result remainedunchanged even though the lithium salt was replaced by LiBF₄.

EXAMPLE 32

[0099] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 0.8M LiPF₆ 0.2M LiBETI EC/DMC (1/2by volume), 0.1 M of PS5, and 5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery wasfound to have a charging capacity of 920 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and anovercharging capacity of 410 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) ofthe battery was 0.45, which is equal to that of the battery employing acompound having a silyl group. The storage characteristic of the batterywas 94%, which is equal to that of the battery in Comparative Example 3.

EXAMPLE 33

[0100] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 0.8M LiBF₄ 0.2M LiBETI EC/DMC (1/2by volume), 0.1M of PS5, and 5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery wasfound to have a charging capacity of 930 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and anovercharging capacity of 420 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) ofthe battery was 0.45, which is equal to that of the battery in Example32 which employs a mixture of lithium salts.

EXAMPLE 34

[0101] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ PC, 0.1M of PS5, and 0.5vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have a chargingcapacity of 900 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 430mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.48 and thestorage characteristic was 92%. This result suggests that even a singlesolvent greatly improves the battery safety and storage characteristicscompared with the battery in Example 21.

EXAMPLE 35

[0102] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ GBL, 0.1M of PS5, and 0.5vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have a chargingcapacity of 910 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacity of 420mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.46 and thestorage characteristic was 92%. The battery in this example is muchbetter in safety and storage characteristic than the battery in Example22.

EXAMPLE 36

[0103] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ EC/PC (1/2 by volume), 0.1Mof PS5, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 910 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and an overcharging capacityof 400 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.44,which is best among all the batteries obtained in the foregoingExamples. The storage characteristic of the battery was as high as 93%.

EXAMPLE 37

[0104] A manganese-based battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ EC/GBL/PC (1/1/1 byvolume), 0.1M of PS5, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. The resulting battery wasfound to have a charging capacity of 920 mAh (up to 4.2 V) and anovercharging capacity of 390 mAh. Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) ofthe battery was 0.42, which is best among all the batteries obtained inthe foregoing Examples. The storage characteristic of the battery was93%, which also best among all the batteries obtained in the foregoingExamples.

[0105] The above-mentioned results are summarized in Table 3. Asmentioned above, the phenylsilane compound as an overcharge inhibitingagent and HFE3 as a fluorinated solvent improve the safety and storagecharacteristics for lithium secondary batteries varying in thecomposition of the electrolytic solution. TABLE 3 Over- Chargingcharging Safety Storage Battery type capacity capacity effect character-Example No. Electrolytic solution (mAh) (mAh) (ξ) istic (%) LiMn₂O₄/amorphous carbon Example 26 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% + PS1 =0.1 M 900 450 0.50 91 Example 27 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% + PS2= 0.1 M 910 430 0.47 92 Example 28 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% +PS3 = 0.1 M 920 430 0.47 93 Example 29 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE3 =5% + PS4 = 0.1 M 920 420 0.46 93 Example 30 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE3= 5% + PS5 = 0.1 M 920 410 0.45 93 Example 31 1 M LiBF₄ EC/DMC = 1/2,HFE3 = 5% + PS5 = 0.1 M 910 390 0.43 93 Example 32 0.8 M LiPF₆ 0.2 MLiBETI EC/EMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% 920 410 0.45 94 + PS5 = 0.1 M Example 330.8 M LiBF₄ 0.2 M LiBETI EC/EMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% 930 420 0.45 94 + PS5 =0.1 M Example 34 1 M LiBF₄ PC, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS5 = 0.1 M 900 430 0.48 92Example 35 1 M LiBF₄ GBL, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS5 = 0.1 M 910 420 0.46 94Example 36 1 M LiBF₄ EC/PC = 1/2, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS5 = 0.1 M 910 400 0.4493 Example 37 1 M LiBF₄ EC/GBL/PC = 1/5/1, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS5 = 920 3900.42 94 0.1 M

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 5

[0106] A battery of the same shape as in Comparative Example 4 wasprepared in which the anode active material is LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(1.5)O₄ andthe cathode active material is graphite carbon and the electrolyticsolution is 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume). This battery will bereferred to as “5V-class Mn-graphite battery” hereinafter. This batterywas charged under the condition of constant current and constant voltage(V₁) of 4.9 V. The charging voltage was set at 4.9 V because thisbattery has a high average discharge voltage. The current at the end ofcharging was 20 mA. The battery was discharged at a constant current of1 A until the voltage decreased to 3.7 V. This charging and dischargingcycle was repeated twice, and the charging capacity (C₁) and theovercharging capacity (C₂) were measured. It was found that the chargingcapacity (C₁) is 1100 mAh and the overcharging capacity (C₂) is 870 mAhand the safety effect (ξ) is 0.79. The storage characteristic is 89%(evaluated under the same condition as in Comparative Example 4).

EXAMPLE 38

[0107] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiBF₄ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE1. When evaluated under the same condition asin Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1110 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 660 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.6, which is lowerby 0.19 than that of the battery in Comparative Example 5. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 82%.

EXAMPLE 39

[0108] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE2. When evaluated under the same condition asin Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1110 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 650 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.59, which is lowerby 0.01 than that of the battery in Example 38. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 83%, which is 1% higher than that ofthe battery in Example 38.

EXAMPLE 40

[0109] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same condition asin Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1120 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 630 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.57, which is lowerby 0.02 than that of the battery in Example 39. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 85%, which is 2% higher than that ofthe battery in Example 39.

[0110] As mentioned above, the combined use of fluorinated solvent andovercharge inhibiting agent improves the safety effect and prevents thestorage characteristics from decreasing also in the case of 5V-classMn-graphite battery. In addition, ether-type fluorinated solvents aremore effective than ester-type ones also in the case of 5V-classMn-graphite battery.

EXAMPLE 41

[0111] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/GBL (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of An, and 1 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same condition asin Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1120 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 580 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.52, which is lowerby 0.05 than that of the battery in Example 40. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 86%, which is 1% higher than that ofthe battery in Example 40. This result suggests that the battery isimproved in safety effect and storage characteristic when the solventfor electrolytic solution is switched from DMC to GBL.

EXAMPLE 42

[0112] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/GBL (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS1, and 1 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1120 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 550 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.49, which is lowerby 0.03 than that of the battery in Example 41. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 87%, which is 1% higher than that ofthe battery in Example 41. This result suggests that PS1(phenyltrimethylsilane) as the overcharge inhibiting agent contributesto safety and storage characteristic also in the case of 5V-classMn-graphite battery.

EXAMPLE 43

[0113] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/GBL (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS2, and 1 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1110 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 510 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.45, which is lowerby 0.03 than that of the battery in Example 42. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 88%, which is 1% higher than that ofthe battery in Example 42.

EXAMPLE 44

[0114] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/GBL (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS3, and 1 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1110 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 460 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.41, which is lowerby 0.05 than that of the battery in Example 43. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 89%, which is equal to that of thebattery in Comparative Example 5.

EXAMPLE 45

[0115] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/GBL (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS4, and 1 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1120 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 450 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.40, which is lowerby 0.01 than that of the battery in Example 44. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 89%, which is equal to that of thebattery in Comparative Example 5.

EXAMPLE 46

[0116] A 5V-class Mn-graphite battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/GBL (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS5, and 1 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 5, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1120 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 420 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.38, which is lowerby 0.02 than that of the battery in Example 45. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 89%, which is equal to that of thebattery in Comparative Example 5.

[0117] It is apparent from the foregoing results that the 5V-classMn-graphite battery improves in safety and storage characteristic whenPS1 (as the overcharge inhibiting agent) is replaced by any of PS2(diphenylmethylsilane), PS3 (diphenylsilane), PS4(diphenyldimethoxysilane), and PS5 (4-methoxyphenyltrimethylsilane).TABLE 4 Over- Charging charging Safety Storage Battery type capacitycapacity effect character- Example No. Electrolytic solution (mAh) (mAh)(ξ) istic (%) LiNi_(0.5)Mn₁₅ O₄/graphte carbon Comparative 1 M LiPF₆EC/DMC = 1/2 1100 870 0.79 89 Example 5 Example 38 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC =1/2, HFE1 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 1110 660 0.60 82 Example 39 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC= 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 1110 650 0.59 83 Example 40 1 M LiPF₆EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 1120 630 0.57 85 Example 41 1 MLiPF₆ EC/GBL = 1/2, HFE3 = 1% + An = 0.1 M 1120 580 0.52 86 Example 42 1M LiPF₆ EC/GBL = 1/2, HFE3 = 1% + PS1 = 0.1 M 1120 550 0.49 87 Example43 1 M LiPF₆ EC/GBL = 1/2, HFE3 = 1% + PS2 = 0.1 M 1110 510 0.46 88Example 44 1 M LiPF₆ EC/GBL = 1/2, HFE3 = 1% + PS3 = 0.1 M 1100 460 0.4189 Example 45 1 M LiPF₆ EC/GBL = 1/2, HFE3 = 1% + PS4 = 0.1 M 1120 4500.40 89 Example 46 1 M LiPF₆ EC/GBL = 1/2, HFE3 = 1% + PS5 = 0.1 M 1120420 0.38 89

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 6

[0118] A battery of the same shape as in Comparative Example 4 wasprepared in which the anode active material is LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(1.5)O₄ andthe cathode active material is amorphous carbon and the electrolyticsolution is 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume). This battery will bereferred to as “5V-class Mn-amorphous battery” hereinafter. This batterywas charged under the condition of constant current and constant voltage(V₁) of 4.9 V. The charging voltage was set at 4.9 V because thisbattery has a high average discharge voltage. The current at the end ofcharging was 20 mA. The battery was discharged at a constant current of1 A until the voltage decreased to 3.7 V. This charging and dischargingcycle was repeated twice, and the charging capacity (C₁) and theovercharging capacity (C₂) were measured. It was found that the chargingcapacity (C₁) is 940 mAh and the overcharging capacity (C₂) is 890 mAhand the safety effect (ξ) is 0.95. The storage characteristic is 87%(evaluated under the same condition as in Comparative Example 5).

EXAMPLE 47

[0119] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE1. When evaluated under the same condition asin Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 950 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 660 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.69, which is lowerby 0.26 than that of the battery in Comparative Example 6. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 81%.

EXAMPLE 48

[0120] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE2. When evaluated under the same condition asin Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 960 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 650 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (4) of the battery was 0.67, which is lowerby 0.02 than that of the battery in Example 47. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 82%, which is higher by 1% than thatof the battery in Example 47.

EXAMPLE 49

[0121] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/DMC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of An, and 5 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same condition asin Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 960 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 630 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.66, which is lowerby 0.01 than that of the battery in Example 48. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 84%, which is higher by 2% than thatof the battery in Example 48.

[0122] As mentioned above, the combined use of fluorinated solvent andovercharge inhibiting agent improves the safety effect and prevents thestorage characteristics from decreasing also in the case of 5V-classMn-amorphous battery. In addition, ether-type fluorinated solvents aremore effective than ester-type ones also in the case of 5V-classMn-amorphous battery.

EXAMPLE 50

[0123] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/PC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of An, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 940 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 560 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.60, which is lowerby 0.06 than that of the battery in Example 49. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 85%, which is higher by 1% than thatof the battery in Example 49. This result suggests that the batteryimproves in safety and storage characteristic when the solvent forelectrolytic solution is switched from DMC to PC.

EXAMPLE 51

[0124] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/PC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS1, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 950 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 520 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.55, which is lowerby 0.05 than that of the battery in Example 50. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 87%, which is higher by 2% than thatof the battery in Example 50. This result suggests that the batteryimproves in safety and storage characteristic when phenylsilane is usedas the overcharge inhibiting agent.

EXAMPLE 52

[0125] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/PC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS2, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 950 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 490 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.52, which is lowerby 0.03 than that of the battery in Example 51. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 88%, which is higher by 1% than thatof the battery in Example 51.

EXAMPLE 53

[0126] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/PC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS3, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 940 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 470 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.50, which is lowerby 0.02 than that of the battery in Example 52. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 88%.

EXAMPLE 54

[0127] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/PC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS4, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 950 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 430 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.45, which is lowerby 0.05 than that of the battery in Example 53. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 88%.

EXAMPLE 55

[0128] A 5V-class Mn-amorphous battery was prepared which contains anelectrolytic solution consisting of 1M LiPF₆ EC/PC (1/2 by volume), 0.1M of PS5, and 0.5 vol % of HFE3. When evaluated under the same conditionas in Comparative Example 6, the resulting battery was found to have acharging capacity of 1120 mAh and an overcharging capacity of 420 mAh.Therefore, the safety effect (ξ) of the battery was 0.44, which is lowerby 0.01 than that of the battery in Example 54. The storagecharacteristic of the battery was 88%.

[0129] It is apparent from the foregoing results that the 5V-classMn-amorphous battery improves in safety and storage characteristic whenPS1 (as the overcharge inhibiting agent) is replaced by any of PS2(diphenylmethylsilane), PS3 (diphenylsilane), PS4(diphenyldimethoxysilane), and PS5 (4-methoxyphenyltrimethylsilane).TABLE 5 Over- Charging charging Safety Storage Battery type capacitycapacity effect character- Example No. Electrolytic solution (mAh) (mAh)(ξ) istic (%) LiNi_(0.5)Mn₁₅ O₄/ amorphous carbon Comparative 1 M LiPF₆EC/DMC = 1/2 940 890 0.95 87 Example 6 Example 47 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC =1/2, HFE1 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 950 660 0.69 81 Example 48 1 M LiPF₆ EC/DMC= 1/2, HFE2 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 960 650 0.67 82 Example 49 1 M LiPF₆EC/DMC = 1/2, HFE3 = 5% + An = 0.1 M 930 630 0.68 84 Example 50 1 MLiPF₆ EC/PC = 1/2, HFE3 = 0.5% + An = 0.1 M 940 560 0.60 85 Example 51 1M LiPF₆ EC/PC = 1/2, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS1 = 0.1 M 950 520 0.55 87 Example52 1 M LiPF₆ EC/PC = 1/2, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS2 = 0.1 M 950 490 0.52 88Example 53 1 M LiPF₆ EC/PC = 1/2, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS3 = 0.1 M 940 470 0.5088 Example 54 1 M LiPF₆ EC/PC = 1/2, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS4 = 0.1 M 950 4300.45 88 Example 55 1 M LiPF₆ EC/PC = 1/2, HFE3 = 0.5% + PS5 = 0.1 M 940410 0.44 88

[0130] It has been demonstrated by Examples in the foregoing that thecombined use of an overcharge inhibiting agent and a fluorinated solventprotects the lithium secondary battery from overcharging. (Thefluorinated solvent enhances the action of the overcharge inhibitingagent and prevents the adverse effect of the fluorinated solvent on thestorage characteristics.) The lithium secondary battery according to thepresent invention has a lower overcharge current than the conventionalone by more than 20%. Therefore, it can be increased in capacity withsafety. The first commercialized lithium secondary battery had acapacity of 1000 mAh; the capacity has increased to 2000 mAh since then.The increase in capacity is accompanied by danger. Assuming a safetyeffect of 0.9, the battery with a capacity of 1000 mAh has an energy of17.1 kJ if overcharged up to 5V, whereas the battery with a capacity of2000 mAh has an energy of 34.2 kJ if overcharged up to 5V. In otherwords, the latter battery has twice as much energy as the formerbattery. By contrast, the battery according to the present invention hasa safety effect of, say, 0.6 and hence it has an energy of 28.8 kJ inits overcharged state even though it has a capacity of 2000 mAh. Themagnitude of this energy is 1.68 times that of the battery with acapacity of 1000 mAh. In other words, if the safety effect is set at0.6, the battery with an overcharge capacity of 2400 mAh will have thesame energy of the conventional battery with an overcharge capacity of2000 mAh which has a safety effect of 0.9. Thus according to the presentinvention, it is possible to increase the capacity of lithium batterieswithout impairing safety. Also, the present invention can be utilized inany electrical appliance as well. Note, an electrical appliance isdefined to include any electrical object capable of utilizing a lithiumsecondary battery.

[0131] Although the invention has been described above in connectionwith exemplary embodiments, it is apparent that many modifications andsubstitutions can be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered aslimited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:
 1. A lithium secondary battery comprising anonaqueous electrolytic solution containing a compound which is oxidizedat a voltage higher than a charge end voltage of the lithium secondarybattery and a compound which inhibits reactions at voltages lower thansaid charge end voltage.
 2. The lithium secondary battery of claim 1wherein said nonaqueous electrolytic solution is composed of afluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula (1) and anaromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2) below.Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinatedC₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅alkyl group, and X denotes an ether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 3. The lithiumsecondary battery according to claim 2 wherein the fluorinated solventis methyl nanofluorobutyl ether.
 4. The lithium secondary batteryaccording to claim 2 wherein the aromatic compound is a phenylsilanederivative represented by the chemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 5. The lithium secondary battery according toclaim 4 wherein said phenylsilane derivative is selected from the groupcomprising diphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane,4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, and diphenyldimethoxysilane.
 6. A lithiumsecondary battery having a nonaqueous electrolytic solutioncharacterized in that the lithium secondary battery has a chargecapacity of C₁ when it (in discharged state) is charged with constantcurrent until a voltage V₁ of 1.2V is reached and the lithium secondarybattery has a charge capacity of C₂ when it is charged further (at avoltage higher than V₁) until it cannot be charged any longer, with theratio (ξ) of C₁/C₂ being lower than 0.7.
 7. The lithium secondarybattery of claim 6 wherein said nonaqueous electrolytic solution iscomposed of a fluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula(1) and an aromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2)below. Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes an entirely or partlyfluorinated C₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes an entirely or partlyfluorinated C₁₋₅ alkyl group, and X denotes an ether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 8. The lithiumsecondary battery according to claim 7 wherein the fluorinated solventis methyl nanofluorobutyl ether.
 9. The lithium secondary batteryaccording to claim 7 wherein the aromatic compound is a phenylsilanederivative represented by the chemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 10. The lithium secondary battery according toclaim 9 wherein said phenylsilane derivative is selected from the groupcomprising diphenylsilane, to diphenylmethylsilane,4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, and diphenyldimethoxysilane.
 11. A lithiumsecondary battery comprising a nonaqueous electrolytic solutioncontaining a compound which is oxidized at a voltage higher than acharge end voltage of the lithium secondary battery and a compound whichinhibits reactions at voltages lower than said charge end voltagewherein said nonaqueous electrolytic solution is composed of afluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula (1) and anaromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2) below.Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinatedC₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅alkyl group, and X denotes an ether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 12. The lithiumsecondary battery according to claim 11 wherein the fluorinated solventis methyl nanofluorobutyl ether.
 13. The lithium secondary batteryaccording to claim 11 wherein the aromatic compound is a phenylsilanederivative represented by the chemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 14. The lithium secondary battery according toclaim 13 wherein said phenylsilane derivative is selected from the groupcomprising diphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane,4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, and diphenyldimethoxysilane.
 15. A lithiumsecondary battery having a nonaqueous electrolytic solutioncharacterized in that the lithium secondary battery has a chargecapacity of C₁ when it (in discharged state) is charged with constantcurrent until a voltage V₁ of 1.2V is reached and the lithium secondarybattery has a charge capacity of C₂ when it is charged further (at avoltage higher than V₁) until it cannot be charged any longer, with theratio (ξ) of C₁/C₂ being lower than 0.7 and wherein said nonaqueouselectrolytic solution is composed of a fluorinated solvent representedby the chemical formula (1) and an aromatic compound represented by thechemical formula (2) below. Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes anentirely or partly fluorinated C₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes anentirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅ alkyl group, and X denotes an etheror ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 16. The lithiumsecondary battery according to claim 15 wherein the fluorinated solventis methyl nanofluorobutyl ether.
 17. The lithium secondary batteryaccording to claim 15 wherein the aromatic compound is a phenylsilanederivative represented by the chemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 18. The lithium secondary battery according toclaim 17 wherein said phenylsilane derivative is selected from the groupcomprising diphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane,4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, and diphenyldimethoxysilane.
 19. Anelectrical appliance using a lithium secondary battery as a power sourcewhich comprises a means for protecting the lithium secondary batteriesfrom overcharging and overdischarging being free from temperature andpressure detection of the batteries, a means for detecting voltages orcurrent of the batteries and a means for controlling to turn on or offthe batteries said lithium secondary battery comprising a nonaqueouselectrolytic solution containing a compound which is oxidized at avoltage higher than a charge end voltage of the lithium secondarybattery and a compound which inhibits reactions at voltages lower thansaid charge end voltage.
 20. The electrical appliance of claim 19wherein said nonaqueous electrolytic solution is composed of afluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula (1) and anaromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2) below.Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinatedC₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅alkyl group, and X denotes an ether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 21. The electricalappliance according to claim 20 wherein the fluorinated solvent ismethyl nanofluorobutyl ether.
 22. The electrical appliance according toclaim 20 wherein the aromatic compound is a phenylsilane derivativerepresented by the chemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 23. The electrical appliance according to claim22 wherein said phenylsilane derivative is selected from the groupcomprising diphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane,4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, and diphenyldimethoxysilane.
 24. Theelectrical appliance according to claim 19 wherein said appliance is anelectric car.
 25. An electrical appliance using a lithium secondarybattery as a power source which comprises a means for protecting thelithium secondary batteries from overcharging and overdischarging beingfree from temperature and pressure detection of the batteries, a meansfor detecting voltages or current of the batteries and a means forcontrolling to turn on or off the said lithium secondary batterycomprising a nonaqueous electrolytic solution characterized in that thelithium secondary battery has a charge capacity of C₁ when it (indischarged state) is charged with constant current until a voltage V₁ of1.2V is reached and the lithium secondary battery has a charge capacityof C₂ when it is charged further (at a voltage higher than V₁) until itcannot be charged any longer, with the ratio (ξ) of C₁/C₂ being lowerthan 0.7.
 26. The electrical appliance of claim 25 wherein saidnonaqueous electrolytic solution is composed of a fluorinated solventrepresented by the chemical formula (1) and an aromatic compoundrepresented by the chemical formula (2) below. Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁denotes an entirely or partly fluorinated C₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotesan entirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅ alkyl group, and X denotes anether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 27. The electricalappliance according to claim 26 wherein the fluorinated solvent ismethyl nanofluorobutyl ether.
 28. The electrical appliance according toclaim 26 wherein the aromatic compound is a phenylsilane derivativerepresented by the chemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 29. The electrical appliance according to claim28 wherein said phenylsilane derivative is selected from the groupcomprising diphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane,4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, and diphenyldimethoxysilane.
 30. Theelectrical appliance according to claim 25 wherein said appliance is anelectric car.
 31. An electrical appliance using a lithium secondarybattery as a power source which comprises a means for protecting thelithium secondary batteries from overcharging and overdischarging beingfree from temperature and pressure detection of the batteries, a meansfor detecting voltages or current of the batteries and a means forcontrolling to turn on or off the batteries said lithium secondarybattery comprising a nonaqueous electrolytic solution containing acompound which is oxidized at a voltage higher than a charge end voltageof the lithium secondary battery and a compound which inhibits reactionsat voltages lower than said charge end voltage wherein said nonaqueouselectrolytic solution is composed of a fluorinated solvent representedby the chemical formula (1) and an aromatic compound represented by thechemical formula (2) below. Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes anentirely or partly fluorinated C₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes anentirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅ alkyl group, and X denotes an etheror ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 32. The electricalappliance according to claim 31 wherein the fluorinated solvent ismethyl nanofluorobutyl ether.
 33. The electrical appliance according toclaim 31 wherein the aromatic compound is a phenylsilane derivativerepresented by the chemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 34. The electrical appliance according to claim33 wherein said phenylsilane derivative is selected from the groupcomprising diphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane,4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, and diphenyldimethoxysilane.
 35. Theelectrical appliance according to claim 31 wherein said appliance is anelectric car.
 36. An electrical appliance using a lithium secondarybattery as a power source which comprises a means for protecting thelithium secondary batteries from overcharging and overdischarging beingfree from temperature and pressure detection of the batteries, a meansfor detecting voltages or current of the batteries and a means forcontrolling to turn on or off the batteries said lithium secondarybattery comprising a nonaqueous electrolytic solution characterized inthat the lithium secondary battery has a charge capacity of C₁ when it(in discharged state) is charged with constant current until a voltageV₁ of 1.2V is reached and the lithium secondary battery has a chargecapacity of C₂ when it is charged further (at a voltage higher than V₁)until it cannot be charged any longer, with the ratio (4) of C₁/C₂ beinglower than 0.7 and wherein said nonaqueous electrolytic solution iscomposed of a fluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula(1) and an aromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2)below. Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes an entirely or partlyfluorinated C₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes an entirely or partlyfluorinated C₁₋₅ alkyl group, and X denotes an ether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 37. The electricalappliance according to claim 36 wherein the fluorinated solvent ismethyl nanofluorobutyl ether.
 38. The electrical appliance according toclaim 36 wherein the aromatic compound is a phenylsilane derivativerepresented by the chemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 39. The electrical appliance according to claim38 wherein said phenylsilane derivative is selected from the groupcomprising diphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane,4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, and diphenyldimethoxysilane.
 40. Theelectrical appliance according to claim 36 wherein said appliance is anelectric car.
 41. A method of fabricating a lithium secondary batterycomprising the steps of: providing an anode; providing a cathode;providing a separator; and providing a nonaqueous electrolytic solutioncontaining a compound which is oxidized at a voltage higher than acharge end voltage of the lithium secondary battery and a compound whichinhibits reactions at voltages lower than said charge end voltage. 42.The method of claim 41 wherein said nonaqueous electrolytic solution iscomposed of a fluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula(1) and an aromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2)below. Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes an entirely or partlyfluorinated C₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes an entirely or partlyfluorinated C₁₋₅ alkyl group, and X denotes an ether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 43. The methodaccording to claim 42 wherein the fluorinated solvent is methylnanofluorobutyl ether.
 44. The method according to claim 42 wherein thearomatic compound is a phenylsilane derivative represented by thechemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 45. The method according to claim 44 wherein saidphenylsilane derivative is selected from the group comprisingdiphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane, 4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, anddiphenyldimethoxysilane.
 46. A method of fabricating a lithium secondarybattery comprising the steps of: providing an anode; providing acathode; providing a separator; and providing a nonaqueous electrolyticsolution characterized in that the lithium secondary battery has acharge capacity of C₁ when it (in discharged state) is charged withconstant current until a voltage V₁ of 1.2V is reached and the lithiumsecondary battery has a charge capacity of C₂ when it is charged further(at a voltage higher than V₁) until it cannot be charged any longer,with the ratio (ξ) of C₁/C₂ being lower than 0.7.
 47. The method ofclaim 46 wherein said nonaqueous electrolytic solution is composed of afluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula (1) and anaromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2) below.Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinatedC₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅alkyl group, and X denotes an ether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 48. The methodaccording to claim 47 wherein the fluorinated solvent is methylnanofluorobutyl ether.
 49. The method according to claim 47 wherein thearomatic compound is a phenylsilane derivative represented by thechemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 50. The method according to claim 49 wherein saidphenylsilane derivative is selected from the group comprisingdiphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane, 4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, anddiphenyldimethoxysilane.
 51. A method of fabricating a lithium secondarybattery comprising the steps of: providing an anode; providing acathode; providing a separator; and providing a nonaqueous electrolyticsolution containing a compound which is oxidized at a voltage higherthan a charge end voltage of the lithium secondary battery and acompound which inhibits reactions at voltages lower than said charge endvoltage wherein said nonaqueous electrolytic solution is composed of afluorinated solvent represented by the chemical formula (1) and anaromatic compound represented by the chemical formula (2) below.Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinatedC₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotes an entirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅alkyl group, and X denotes an ether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 52. The methodaccording to claim 51 wherein the fluorinated solvent is methylnanofluorobutyl ether.
 53. The method according to claim 51 wherein thearomatic compound is a phenylsilane derivative represented by thechemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 54. The method according to claim 53 wherein saidphenylsilane derivative is selected from the group comprisingdiphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane, 4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, anddiphenyldimethoxysilane.
 55. A method of fabricating a lithium secondarybattery comprising the steps of: providing an anode; providing acathode; providing a separator; and providing a nonaqueous electrolyticsolution characterized in that the lithium secondary battery has acharge capacity of C₁ when it (in discharged state) is charged withconstant current until a voltage V₁ of 1.2V is reached and the lithiumsecondary battery has a charge capacity of C₂ when it is charged further(at a voltage higher than V₁) until it cannot be charged any longer,with the ratio (ξ) of C₁/C₂ being lower than 0.7 and wherein saidnonaqueous electrolytic solution is composed of a fluorinated solventrepresented by the chemical formula (1) and an aromatic compoundrepresented by the chemical formula (2) below. Rf₁—X—Rf₂  (1) (where Rf₁denotes an entirely or partly fluorinated C₂₋₁₀ alkyl group, Rf₂ denotesan entirely or partly fluorinated C₁₋₅ alkyl group, and X denotes anether or ester.)

(where R₁, R₂, R₃, and R₄ each denotes hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine,bromine, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group or alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxygroup, an alkyl-substituted phenyl group or phenoxy group, a C₁₋₄carboxyl group, a benzyl group, or an alkyl-substituted oralkoxyl-substituted silyl group; and R₅ and R₆ each denotes hydrogen,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl group.)
 56. The methodaccording to claim 55 wherein the fluorinated solvent is methylnanofluorobutyl ether.
 57. The method according to claim 55 wherein thearomatic compound is a phenylsilane derivative represented by thechemical formula (3) below.

(where R₇, R₈, and R₉ each denotes hydrogen, a C₁₋₃ alkyl group oralkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a phenoxy group, a benzyl group,fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or a C₁₋₃ alkyl-substituted phenyl group,phenoxy group, or benzyl group; and R₁₀, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, and R₁₄ eachdenotes a C₁₋₃ alkoxyl group, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, or aphenyl group, phenoxy group, or benzyl group substituted with fluorine,chlorine, or bromine.)
 58. The method according to claim 57 wherein saidphenylsilane derivative is selected from the group comprisingdiphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane, 4-methylpheyltrimethylsilane, anddiphenyldimethoxysilane.